How do you stay motivated?

I will get a kick in me to exercise .. think about it all day and then come home and fall asleep or make up excuses of other things that I need to do> I was walking for about 2 weeks every day with the dog after work. Then it got super hot here and then it was raining.. (never mind the fact that I have a nordic track treadmill in my bedroom) What do I do or what do you all do to get motivated? I know that it benefits me and I know that It makes me feel better but how do I actually get up off of my butt and do it?

Hi Suga, You're doing great btw. Looking good. Here's some ideas I tell people. A lot of it is time management and finding something you like to do. If you have problems after work, get up a little earlier and workout before work. Schedule the big workouts for your days off and just do shorter workouts to get by on workdays. Split up your workout. If you don't have time to walk for an hour at night after work, walk for 30 minutes before work and 30 minutes after work. Use your lunchtime to workout. There are more people walking during lunch every day. Personally, I sit at work all day. Getting up and walking for 45 minutes at lunch gets the blood flowing again, stretches me out and energizes me to complete the day, when everybody else is doing the after lunch crash and burn. I eat at my desk at breaks. I know everyone's job doesn't allow for this, but if it does, it's probably one of the best solutions to getting in that workout. Find an activity you like to do, like dancing or swimming. If you enjoy it, like play, you'll do it more often. I believe the average person that just wants to stay in shape doesn't necessarily need to lift weights or run. Play can get you in amazing shape. Lifting just happens to be fun for me. I think the hardest, best cardio workout I do all week is mowing the lawn. Chores are a great exercise and you feel like you've accomplished something after your done. Make an appointment to workout. If you set up a standing appointment every other day at say, 5 pm, for 1 hour to exercise and keep the appointment, within time, it will be a habit you'll have for life. This works well if you find a training buddy. Knowing someone is there waiting on you makes you less likely to skip the workout and go lay in the pool. Guilt is a great motivator. Have a goal. Goals are the greatest motivator on earth. "All motivation is self-motivation. Your family, your boss, or your co-workers can try to get your engine going, but until you decide what to accomplish, nothing will happen." ~~Seth Godin Earl

Earl gave some great suggestions. What works best for me is doing it before work. Start slow , once or twice a week and keep it up till you want to increase. Thats what I did and now I feel odd if I miss a day. Julie

Hi Suga, For me staying motivated is about survival. I just don't want to go back to 350 pounds, I have worked too hard to get here. I look at the change much like the change in eating, it has to be forever, not just a quick fix. I make the exercise part of my day, just like the foods I choose and eating my meals, it's merely an extension. One other thing I do not do is go all the way home. I go straight to the gym 4-5 days a week. I also know that I feel fabulous when I am done, so that is the incentive to keep going. I also bring a book, not a magazine, and I put it on the book holder on the elliptical. Before I know it I have been on it for 45 minutes, and if the book is good sometimes I stay on longer!!! Put on a movie, or the television if the nordic track is in your bedroom. Get on and just move!!!!! I think that for the overall approach to be one of a whole approach. Eating right, exercising and keeping a positive mindset is what is going to keep the weight off in the end and make you feel 1000 times better. Good luck, Donna

Hey Donna, I like you. You have a good attitude. Some people just don't realize how good you feel about yourself after you get done working out. Sure it's a little hard while you're pounding on a treadmill, but when you're done and wiping off the sweat, you know you've accomplished something and can feel good about yourself for just doing it, when others won't. Earl

Hi Earl, I like you too. I found this attitude necessary to exact a permanent change in my relationship with food, which was leading to the gradual destruction of the only body I will ever have!! Sometimes I get to the gym after a long day at work, step on the elliptical and wonder how I am going to get through the next 45 minutes. Usually after the first two minutes I am good to go, and the rest of the time just passes by. I try hard not to preach because I spent a lot of years in a body that didn't deserve to be that big. Just because suddenly I "get" it doesn't mean that everyone should be able to. All I know is I am not going back to that body again, that much I know, and whatever it takes to keep me where I am and get healthier, I'm game!!! Donna

Lisa, Thank you for reading my profile and enjoying it. I am sorry I made you cry!!! I think that even if I never get to goal, and even if my BMI stays in the "obese" category, I will always be thankful for the relationship I have with food now. I never thought it would change, ever. I thought I'd forever be a hostage to those things that, while making me feel good and soft and warm, also made me huge -- our friends the carbs. I think I've finally come out the winner!! Thanks again, Donna

Everyone here basically has said what I would say about exercise except one thing...getting a buddy (or even a trainer) can help too! Where I work out, the exercise physiologist is included in the price and they basically hold your hand the first few weeks and develop a personalized exercise plan for each person. That in itself was the key factor in my not quitting the gym the first month I went when it was so hard and I had a million other things to get done...I had someone there to push me and motivate me. After I got past my issues with actually exercising in front of others, the thing that kept me going besides losing even more inches was that I developed a few "friendships" at the gym and now that we all work out together and do partner exercises, it helps keep me motivated to go and we hold each other accountable for getting things done and not slacking off. I also go straight from work to the gym 2-3x a week, and the other nights I change into my workout clothes as soon as I get home so that when DH arrives home, I serve dinner and head right out to the gym. That way there's no reason for me not to get at least an hour in per day. At this point in time (9 months out) I go to the gym 4-5x a week (plus Saturday am) and I really don't feel as good on the days I don't exercise. I honestly never thought I'd say that, but it is true. Getting in my workout is great stress relief and it is MY time...and that's something I need. Good luck with your journey! Christine

I will tell you, I have done all sorts of things to organize my life so that I am successful at regular exercise. I am the queeeen of excuses!  Things I have done to stay on track:  bought a good treadmill to eliminate time of day/weather/allergy excuses. Joined a gym that opens at 4:30 am and got a locker so I could shower there on days I have to be at work early. Committed to doing it first thing every day except Sunday (too many variables during the day would get in the way of my afternoon or evening workout plans, plus sometimes I was just darned TIRED, stressed out, whatever). Hired a trainer to help me with weight training, about which I know *nothing*. Etc. Etc. Etc. Then I found one thing that has worked to motivate me like nothing else. Sadly it wasn't until I bet a guy $100 that I got TOTALLY motivated. Even more sadly, I'm totally serious! He wanted to bet I couldn't keep up my 6 days/wee****il January. I told him to eat my dust and put his money where his mouth was. He was only willing to bet $100, which I told him must have been because that was all he was willing to LOSE. Something about a challenge. I'm gonna get his $100. BRING IT! Well, it works for me. You asked! :-)

Another thing that keeps me going.....there comes a point in a workout (especially one you like) that you get to that runner's high.  Granted it comes after the "pain" sometimes. LOL but well worth it after you reach it. Adrenaline junkie am I?  :)